Porosity: diffuse porous
Arrangement: some pores are exclusively solitary, but radial multiples of two to three pores are much more widespread
Vessels: large to very large, few to very few; brown deposits occasionally present
Parenchyma: diffuse-in-aggregates, vasicentric, winged, lozenge, and confluent
Rays: narrow to medium width; normal spacing
Lookalikes/Substitutes: Brownheart (Vouacapoua americana) and partridgewood (Andira inermis) are two other South American hardwoods with similar density and appearance. Separating them from sucupira can be difficult, but in general, these woods will have much more widespread confluent parenchyma throughout most of the pores, while sucupira will, on average, have a more conservative amount of confluent parenchyma.
Notes: Tatabu (Diplotropis purpurea) is a closely related species with nearly identical properties. Given the available macroscopic features, there aren’t enough consistently unique elements to reliably distinguish between the species of Diplotropis and Bowdichia.